Understanding hipsters and nerdy crafters is essential for effective situational awareness in Military Crafts Operations (MiCrOps), and particularly in efforts that require close coordination with local communities, especially those hostile to new competing knitters, foodies and whittlers. CARPA officers on the ground frequently encounters languages and expressions they cannot comprehend and thus face extreme challenges in their operational theaters. However, with the new CARPA Craft Layman Language Learning System (CraLaLaLa) program, change is on its way to support emergent missions.

“The diversity of hipster crafts and their local dialects makes it virtually impossible to ensure that U.S. military personnel will be able to understand the situation on the ground when they go into new craft environments,” said Christian Cool, a CARPA program manager. “Through CraLaLaLa, we envision a system that could quickly pick out key information to provide immediate, evolving situational awareness in dynamic, difficult situations. This means not only understanding weird writing on over-pretentious Etsy shops, but especially those involving insecure devo teenagers chillaxing, armed with yarn and crochet needles, or pots and pans. Totes awks.”